02 June 2010

What happens when a neighborhood is in a state of decline? Cities such as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Detroit, Michigan, have become empty shells of their former glory after industry left them behind. Prolonged vacancies result in neighborhoods that are no longer self-sustaining, filled with empty lots and abandoned buildings.

The Heidelberg Project began in 1986 by Tyree Guyton in Detroit’s East Side neighborhood. It is an example of artworks that spark dialogue between vacancy and the community. Together with his grandfather, Guyton began cleaning up lots along Heidelberg and Elba streets in an area perceived as dangerous and unwelcoming. Guyton salvaged random material and transformed it into art installations, turning the neighborhood landscape into large art environments through the decoration of abandoned houses and yards6 [fig 9 and 10]. The art has empowered the neighborhood, instilling it with pride. It now welcomes 275,000 annual visitors to walk the streets at all times of day7.

The neighborhood provides a social critique of the blight and decay within the neighborhood and the city as whole. Twenty-four houses serve as inspiration to date, posing questions on the definition of community and the bonds that make a city work. On two occasions in the 1990s, the city of Detroit demolished a total of six houses in the Heidelberg Project, citing their existence as an impediment to urban planning. As a result, Guyton and supporters filed a civil lawsuit. The Wayne County circuit court ruled in their favor to protect the artist’s 1st amendment rights.

fig. 11
Kea Tawana Ark, Newark, NJ (Photo by Camilo Jose Vergara)

In a similar project, Kea Tawana built a wooden ark on city vacant land in Newark, New Jersey in 1981 [fig. 11]. Fed up with city neglect of the neighborhood since the 1967 riots, Tawana decided to create a massive structure – ninety feet wide and three stories high – using scavenged material. The ark served to provide hope and symbolize renewal. Unfortunately, the city decided to raze the structure, stating that its presence did not comply with code.

All of these art environments respond to the social condition left by vacancy and address neglect by enlivening an abandoned lot or derelict building. They present playful and composed installations. Opinions of these creations vary between curiosity or intolerance. People living in the immediate area may be intolerant of the artistic squatting on the condemned property, and city intervention may coincide with neighborhood opposition through the introduction of city codes and regulations8.

One problem with the Heidelberg Project is that in the evening, the works recede back into their environment [fig. 12]. Street fixtures turn on, and the area visually reverts back to their status quo. The Heidelberg Project’s large-scale installations become monstrosities that scatter the landscape like the refuse found in a vacant lot. In addition, the low color rendering index (CRI) of the high-pressure sodium lighting washes everything in a sickly yellow [fig 13 and 14], eliminating the vibrant colors painted by Guyton on these projects. Either taken as individual works or a whole environment, the failure to highlight these art transformations reduces the vital uniqueness on display.

To provide the works with special lighting might allow the Heidelberg Project to continue its discourse. This can be accomplished with temporary fixtures strategically placed onsite to create dramatic effect. By using a lamp with a higher CRI than HPS, these scenes would contrast from the streetscape and better display the vacant condition. The creation of spectacle is not the intent. Instead, the light provides a vehicle to support the social commentary of the artist author.

Scaffolding is often seen as utilitarian, functional structures in the United States. These sidewalk sheds serve to protect pedestrians from construction on a building or site, while workers are hoisting materials up and down. Formally, they consist of sheet steel propped on steel tube frames, with plywood and mesh walls lining their structure [fig. 4]. Lighting is often provided overhead with single lamp fixtures that dot the underside of these sheds. As a whole, their role does little to compliment or enhance the construction site. On the other hand, these barriers visually signal the arrival of planned change.

fig. 4 Scaffolding structure canopy detail (Photo by author)

William Mitchell, former dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT, observes that scaffolding in Europe and Japan are sensitive to the visual disturbance they impose on the built environment3. Moreover, European and Japanese architects and engineers understand the visual disturbance that these structures create on the urban streetscape. Recent commissions and competitions in the United States have followed their lead and brought to light how scaffolding can be reimagined. In 1998 Michael Graves designed the scaffolding for the Washington Monument renovation on D.C.’s National Mall [fig.5]. Thirty-seven miles of scaffolding surrounded the monument, while fabric draped over it mimicked the masonry of the obelisk. Its presence transformed the monument and mall when it was lit at night. Some admirers of the monument scaffolding even petitioned for it to remain after work was complete. The question remains: how does scaffolding integrate within a construction site in a manner that balances aesthetics with function?

The Alliance of Downtown New York has been working to enhance the quality of life in Lower Manhattan since 1995. Initiated in 2007, Re:Construction is a public art program that allows artists and designers to use construction sites as blank slates for public art installations. The project reimagines construction barriers with thoughtful, unusual designs. Together with the artist and developers, the Downtown Alliance works to enhance lower Manhattan with creative alternatives to the standard barricades4.

Among the works installed, GRO Architects addressed sidewalk scaffolding with Best Pedestrian Route (2007)5. By taking visual cues from Jersey barriers and construction signs, angled plywood struts artfully compose a scaffolding structure. The arrayed angles hint at the volatility occurring behind the structure. In addition, arrow-shaped apertures provide views for pedestrians to see the construction progress occurring [fig. 6]. The project succeeds by working with various scales and meanings. Graphic cues borrow elements from standard signage. The orange color warns of construction, while the arrows allow site illumination to provide sidewalk lighting. The arrow composition claims the pedestrian’s attention, not providing instructive use, but signalling the construction activity behind. The use of bright colors and unique access of light to the walkway provides a stimulating contrast to the standard scaffolding along normal city sidewalks. Best Pedestrian Route is meant to be modular, allowing for multiple structures to line any given site.

Another example of the reimagined scaffold, which has been promised funding and construction by the Alliance, is the UrbanShed design competition. In 2009, the New York Buildings Department and the AIA New York Chapter launched a competition for the design of city scaffold sheds. The winning design Urban Umbrella by University of Pennsylvania architecture student Young-Hwan Choi took structural cues from an umbrella. The metal structure uses curved tubing to hold and support translucent fiberglass panels. The intent is to draw natural light into the shed during the day [fig. 7], while LED strip lighting provides evening illumination [fig. 8]. The proposal succeeds by providing additional natural light to flow underneath the shed structures. The placement of the LED strips playfully corresponds to the vaulted supports beneath the panels. Moreover, the removal of cross bracing allows pedestrians to freely walk between the metal braces and provides for better visibility of the building and store facade.

Both of these examples offer structural and aesthetic alternatives to the common shed. A building may undergo construction indefinitely, yet these sheds provide an attractive option to the pedestrian and street environment.

In reality, the options outlined above may be costly to implement. Best Pedestrian Route’s usage of custom-shaped apertures lacks the advantage of easy production. Sourcing custom CNC-milled sheets from a manufacturing vendor adds another layer to the production time. Time could be used more effectively with simple modifications that allow for 4’ x 8’ plywood sheets to be modified onsite.

The Urban Umbrella maintains it is equivalent in cost to the current scaffolding shed. Its response attempts to beautify the surrounding building. While the scaffolding treatment allows for views of building storefronts, Urban Umbrella does not address scaffolding that walls off construction sites from the activity in progress. Further explorations with that application would strengthen its design intent. Together, Best Pedestrian Route and Urban Umbrella could be synthesized to create a viable option that is aesthetic and functional.

The ongoing recession of 2007 has closed down many businesses. Consequently, many commercial storefronts have emptied their spaces with landlords seeking tenants to fill them on a temporary basis. Brooklyn developer Jed Walentas of Two Trees Development states, “Any sort of activity is better than no activity1.” One solution seeks out advertisers to bring their messages to street level. As a result, these storefronts generate revenue and temporarily provide a different form of merchandising. Vinyl coverings act as pedestrian billboards, adhering to windows and building facades [fig. 1].

fig. 1: A Nestea ad in the window of a vacant store in New York. (Photo by InWindow Outdoor. Courtesy of the New York Times)

Ad placement on storefronts heightens brand awareness to pedestrians, while allowing commercial occupation of the space. Monster Media, a leader in storefront advertising, worked with MTV to bring awareness of their new show, “The Buried Life”, to the public2. Placed in busy midtown Manhattan, the ads engage pedestrians asking, “What do you want to do before you die?” Strangers can enter their responses on an interactive interface, where their responses can then be displayed on the one of the building windows [fig. 2].

Interactive storefront advertisers like Monster Media and InWindow provides different transactions between product and potential consumers. Text messages or holograms become tools to exchange information along a sidewalk. Vacant stores, once an eyesore, maintain the selling of products through ad marketing.

The opportunity to utilize light as an agent to reinforce a property’s commercial function suggests other options. Lighting certain aspects of the interior space can promote the space potential. Looking through the window, eyes would be drawn into the space, imagining its possibilities.

Three storefronts for rent in Midtown Manhattan utilize light to promote their commercial attractiveness. One storefront retains the space decorated by the former tenant, while the others sit empty with white walls. “PRIME RETAIL SPACE FOR RENT” and slick architectural renderings front the windows, beckoning potential tenants to imagine their new business location [fig. 3].

fig. 3: Midtown Manhattan retail space (Photos by author)

All three are lit differently. The unchanged space uses fluorescent-lit troffers. The space is carpeted with painted walls in a natural color palette. Its appearance resembles an office: a drop down ceiling, lit with lensed ceiling troffers typical of corporate America. Ceramic metal halide ceiling fixtures light the second space. The space is barren with white walls. Its light reminds one of factory floors and warehouses. The last storefront appears to be a former lobby foyer that has been walled off by painted white drywall. The space is lit with a utility strip of two 8’ T12 fluorescents. The strip has been mounted vertically, centered on the backwall.

Regardless of their “For Rent” signage, the spaces draw in sidewalk glances by remaining lit throughout the day. For instance, the vertical, wall mounted fluorescent attracts attention due to its unusual placement. Its emanating glow within a barren space provokes questions of why it is lit and what is its significance. The barren walls and exposed wiring further suggests an empty canvas awaiting to be changed.

The painted walls and troffers in the other storefront recall the space’s former identity. It echoes the possibility to remain in status quo. Despite this, the space does little to promote its future without the computer rendering placed in front of window. As a group, elements of the three storefronts work together to reimagine possible scenarios for business space types.

Subscribe To

About Me

David Del Rosario is an architectural lighting designer living in Brooklyn, New York. This blog is a result of his thesis work completed in 2010.
The choice of Franklin Avenue, in the neighborhood of North Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, exemplifies a gentrifying commercial street halted by the economic downturn.
The application of light on blight re-examines temporal permanence and questions its future, unknown manifestation. Light embodies the potential to inform and revitalize, while activating a space for present usage.